Onboard an Edge Device

Introduction

This feature is for POC & Demo only. 

Onboarding registers an edge device with Edge Infrastructure Services (previously ZEDEDA Cloud) providing only an onboarding key and a serial number. After the device boots and connects to Edge Infrastructure Services, EVE-OS (Edge Virtualization Engine) automatically reports all device information (adapters, storage, and hardware identity) and populates the edge node record. You can then configure adapters and other hardware-specific settings from the Adapters tab.

Use this procedure when you want to pre-register a device in Edge Infrastructure Services before it is physically available, or when you do not have the device's hardware specifications on hand. If you have all  the details, you can use Onboard Edge Nodes using Models instead.  

Prerequisites

• EVE-OS 17.x-LTS or greater installed on the edge device.
• An active onboarding key in. The default onboarding key is prepopulated with 5d0767ee-0547-4569-b530-387e526f8cb9. Note that your Edge Infrastructure Services administrator may have a unique onboarding key for you.
• The edge device’s soft serial number.
• Either the SysManager or SysAdmin role in Edge Infrastructure Services.

Navigate to Edge Nodes

1. Log into Edge Infrastructure Services.
2. In the left panel, click Edge Nodes.
3. Click Add New.

The system loads the Add to Edge Nodes wizard, which has three tabs: Configure an Edge Node, Select & Update Group, and Preview & Add.

Configure the Edge Node

This step creates the edge node record in Edge Infrastructure Services. You are only required to provide a name, a serial number, and an onboarding key at this stage.

1. In the Name field, enter a name for the edge node.
2. In the Size field, enter the serial number of the edge device.
3. Optionally, enter a description in the Description field.
4. To assign the edge node to a project, click the Project dropdown and select the appropriate project.
5. In the Hardware Identity section, click Skip the HW. This bypasses the hardware identity fields and enables modeless onboarding. The edge device will report its own hardware identity after it connects to Edge Infrastructure Services.
6. Optionally, add tags in the Tags fields to help identify or group the edge node.
7. To configure additional settings such as network instances or application profiles, expand the Additional Configuration section. These settings are optional and can also be applied after onboarding.
8. Click Next.

Note: When you skip hardware identity, Edge Infrastructure Services creates the edge node record immediately. After the device boots and connects, it will report its full device information and update the record automatically. You can update the hardware identity later if needed.

Review and Add the Edge Node

1. Review the configuration summary on the Preview & Add tab.
2. If any details are incorrect, click Back to return to the previous tab and make corrections.
3. Click Add to create the edge node record.

Edge Infrastructure Services creates the edge node with a Not Configured status. The Adapters tab and hardware identity fields will be empty until the device connects.

Reboot the Edge Node

After creating the edge node record in Edge Infrastructure Services, reboot the physical edge node.

1. Physically reboot the edge node, or issue a remote reboot command if the device is already accessible.
2. Ensure the device can reach Edge Infrastructure Services over the network.

Once the device boots, EVE-OS sends all device information to Edge Infrastructure Services, including hardware identity, network adapters, and IO adapters.

Verify the Configuration

After the device connects and reports its information, confirm that the edge node record has been fully populated.

1. In Edge Infrastructure Services, navigate to Edge Nodes and click the name of the edge node you just created.
2. Click the Adapters tab.
3. Confirm that the Network Adapters and IO Adapters sections are populated with the device's adapter information.
4. Click the Summary tab and confirm that hardware identity details are now present.
5. Confirm that the edge node status has changed from Not Configured to an active status.

If the Adapters tab remains empty after the device has had time to connect, verify the following:

• The edge device is running EVE-OS 16.6 or later.
• The physical node has network connectivity to Edge Infrastructure Services.
• The onboarding key entered during registration is valid and has not expired.

Configure Adapters

After the device has reported its hardware information, you can assign network instances and configure adapters as needed.

1. On the edge node detail page, click the Adapters tab.
2. For each adapter you want to configure, click Not Configured in the Interface Usage column and select the appropriate network instance.
3. Save your changes.

Next Steps

• Manage an Edge Node
• Use the ZEDEDA CLI to Manage an Edge Node

You might also be interested in the following articles: 

• Add edge applications from the Marketplace, which represents the Metadata manifest of the software application.
  • Add Storage if you’re adding your own app to the local marketplace.
  • Configure inbound and outbound firewall rules for network traffic. For example, see inbound and outbound rules in Add a Container as an Edge App Type or Add a Virtual Machine as an Edge App Type.
• Configure a network instance to enable network connectivity for your edge apps, including enabling edge apps on the same edge node to communicate with one another.
• Deploy the edge application on the edge node.